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Christie knew about bridge lane closures: report

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks in front of a group of monitors as he visits the Super Bowl security operations center in East Rutherford, New Jersey January 29, 2014. Photo: Reuters/Mel Evans

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The former New Jersey official at the center of a political retribution scandal dogging Governor Chris Christie said on Friday the governor knew about a traffic jam orchestrated by his top aides, the New York Times reported.

Christie, a leading Republican candidate for the White House in 2016, has repeatedly denied any knowledge of a plan to snarl traffic near the busy George Washington Bridge and severed ties with several top aides over their role in the incident.

David Wildstein, who resigned his post at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey late last year, said he had evidence that proves Christie had knowledge of the lane closures “during the period when the lanes were closed,” according to a letter sent to the authority’s lawyer and released to the newspaper.

The closures last September caused four days of severe traffic jams for residents of Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Christie, who won re-election in a landslide last November, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.